Run With Horses

24_05_11-Ep.311 - Run With Horses Podcast - Notes from the National Disciple Makers Forum Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Last week we talked about the National Disciple Makers Forum and today we continue as I go through my notes and share some of what I learned along the way. Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! The question we all answer every day is how do WE live this HERE, NOW. The answer says a lot about our view of God and His place in our lives. A life that is focused on Intentional, Relational Disciple Making that is Centered on Jesus is a life of worship. And what a journey He takes us on when we follow Him! Thanks for joining me again today! Stop and say a prayer for your church family today! I’d love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.

23_05_04 -Ep.310 - Run With Horses Podcast A look back at the National Disciple Makers Forum 2024. Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast

23_04_20 -Ep.309 - Run With Horses Podcast - It’s all about Jesus Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Last week we talked about how Jesus is our focus. As a disciple, you become like the one you follow and we follow Jesus. Today we consider how we worship Jesus as we follow Him. Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! We are working on what it might look like to live out my working definition of church by going through the definition a word at a time. Today we turn to worship. MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. Worship – Merriam-Webster 1: to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power 2: to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion ****https://wheatmyermusic.com/on-christian-worship-old-testament-vocabulary/ The two most common Old Testament Hebrew words commonly translated as “worship” are shachah and abad. Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines shachah as meaning “to worship, prostrate oneself, bow down.” It occurs more than 170 times in the OT and is the principle Hebrew word translated into English as “worship.” To bow is to express complete surrender to the mercy of the second person to be used as they willed. Vine’s defines abad as meaning “to serve, cultivate, enslave, work.” It is very common throughout the OT (nearly 300 instances) but is only occasionally translated as “worship” (about 15 times). Rather, its most frequent English translation is “to serve” where it refers to all manner of ordinary labor. To conclude, when we read the word “worship” in the Old Testament we should always see within it the essence of bowing, an aroma of surrender and service, of saying, “here I am, use me as you will.” To borrow a line from Issac Watts, when the Old Testament says worship, it is saying, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” **** shachah Gen 18:2 - Gen 22:5 - abad Gen 2:15 - Deut. 10:12-13 - Key Points from OT worship – It involves HUMILITY and SERVICE. NT worship John 4: 19-24 - 1 1 Peter 1:4-5 - Romans 12: 1-2 - 12:1 - latreia: service, sacred service - Usage: service rendered to God, perhaps simply: worship Hebrews 13: 15-16 - Let’s go back to our definition of the church for a minute. MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. Last week I said that We follow Jesus, because He is God and Savior and because He is doing something. Jesus offers us a part in His mission as His witnesses. There is no greater work we can give our lives to. We follow Jesus because outside of Him our lives have no purpose. Once you truly understand who Jesus is and what He offers you, there is no choice to be made. We follow Jesus because of Who He IS and what He is doing. And that is also the reason we worship Him. He IS God. What is your response to Jesus? Will you follow...

23_04_20 -Ep.308 - Run With Horses Podcast - It’s all about Jesus Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Last week we talked about what it means to follow Jesus. The cliff notes version, do what He says. This week we move on to the next part, it’s really simple and it’s all about Jesus. Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! We are working on what it might look like to live out my working definition of church by going through the definition a word at a time. We are looking at Jesus today. MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. Last week we considered that we are His followers. Jesus is the “another” of the M-W definitions! Follower – Merriam-Webster a : one in the service of another : retainer b : one that follows the opinions or teachings of another c : one that imitates another **** So we follow and obey Jesus but Why? Who is Jesus? Here is a starter list for you. ***** Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ***** Why would Lewis say this about Jesus? The Bible claims Jesus is God. Isaiah 9:6 Hebrews 1:8 Titus 2:13 - John 1:1 Jesus is Savior of the World. Acts 5:31 1 John 4:14 Philippians 3:20 Jesus is a Miracle Worker. Some of Jesus’ Miracles Turned water into wine (John 2:1–11) Healed a paralytic (Mark 2:1–12) Healed a withered hand (Mark 3:1–3) Calmed a storm (Mark 4:35–41) Healed a servant from afar (Luke 7:1–10) Revived a dead man (Luke 7:11–17) Healed a man with leprosy (Matthew 8:2–4) Healed a bleeding woman (Luke 8:43–48) Healed a man born blind (John 9:1–12) Fed the multitude (Matthew 14:13–21) Walked on water (Matthew 14:22–33) Cast out demons (Matthew 17:14–21) Healed a man with a severed ear (Luke 22:50–51) Resurrected himself (Mark 16:1–7) Let’s go back to our definition of the church for a minute. MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. We follow Jesus. Because He is God and Savior and because He is doing something. We all want our lives to matter. We want to do something important. Jesus offers us a...

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Last week we began tearing apart my working definition of the church by looking at the together aspect of the Church. Today we consider the next part, found in the word followers. What does it mean to follow Jesus? That’s the topic of the day! Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! Let’s continue to dig into what it might look like to live out my working definition of church. MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. We talked about the importance of relationships in the church last week. This week is really a continuation of that idea, but with an emphasis on the relationship that we have with Jesus. We are His followers. Follower – Merriam-Webster a : one in the service of another : retainer b : one that follows the opinions or teachings of another c : one that imitates another I like those three points. In service of another – Follow teachings of another – Imitate another They seem to match up pretty well with what the bible says about following Jesus. don’t believe you can live out obedience to the commands of Jesus outside His church. Making intentional efforts to obey the commands of Jesus will result in your spiritual growth and the building up of the church. Intentional obedience to the commands of Jesus will connect you directly to Jesus and His mission. It doesn’t matter how much you know if you aren’t practically engaged in following Jesus. The question is how do WE live this HERE, NOW. A life that is Intentional, Relational, and Centered on Jesus. Thanks for joining me again today! Stop and say a prayer for your church family today! I’d love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! Let’s begin to dig into what it might look like to live out my working definition of church. MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of followers of Jesus who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. I. Relationship We are a group of people on the same journey following the same tour guide. Group - a number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationship. Merriam-Webster A. Can’t do it alone! We all need help bearing out burdens. We are united in Christ. B. Ministry requires a connection Relationships matter. One another’s, accountability, encouragement. The mission of Jesus is a church responsibility. C. God’s Word commands it. Heb. 10:25 – do not neglect. D. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is relational The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:20-21) Christians gather together. We are joined into one body with Jesus as the head. We need each other. 1. We are in this together. The “one another’s” require a community. 2. We all have gifts the church needs. You can’t be who you are meant to be without the church family. 3. The mission requires us all to do our part. The work that Jesus left the church is too big to be done alone. 4. Everyone needs encouragement sometime. Be an encourager, be encouraged. E. We are equipped by each other. Eph. 4

23_03_30 -Ep.305 - Run With Horses Podcast – Multiplication in the Essential Church Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Go forth and multiply! It is the last command that Jesus left with His disciples and one of the main concerns of the church today. Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! Last week we looked at maturity the essential church. The main point is that we have to be changing if we are maturing and becoming more like Jesus. He is working a wonderful transformation in our lives. Quick review: MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of Jesus’ disciples who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. It is my view that this process embracing the mission of Jesus and becoming a disciple maker is an important part of how God transforms you. We started session one with the topic SEEDS: What’s our Disciple Making DNA? Matthew 4:19: "Follow me," Jesus declared, "and I will make you fishers of men." Jesus doesn't just call disciples, He equips them to make more disciples. We moved on to session two with the topic TREES: What is your vision of Maturity? Hebrews 5:11-14 11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Stages of Spiritual Growth – Dead, Infant, Child, Young Adult, Parents, Grandparents And Today we are ready for Session 3: Forests: How Do We Multiply? Big Idea: Multiplication is the result of putting disciple making into practice. Disciple making is contagious! As we mature as disciple makers, we equip others to do the same, resulting in a multiplication effect: the growth of the local church and planting new churches near and far. **** Starting an Evangelistic Bible Study Make a list and pray for it Make your list of who you want to talk with and pray for them Find a partner and make a plan Try to find a partner to do this with, and make a plan for the next few steps Schedule it and reach out to people Come up with a schedule for your meet-ups, make contacts with people using the conversations checklist and invite them to the meetup. Start meeting and improve it over time Start meeting and keep it going, improving what you started and making it better. It doesn’t need to be perfect right away–or ever really! Be faithful and try to be fruitful Just faithfully keep meeting with people and having conversations, and pray that there is fruit of people growing closer to Jesus. Your job is faithfulness and intending to be fruitful, but God provides the fruit. Be consistent Consistently keep having intentional conversations and a regularly scheduled and communicated meeting, and that consistency will over time be part of your success. 6 Questions for Leading a Bible Study THANKS - What are you thankful for? CHALLENGE - What challenges are you facing? → PRAY for challenges → READ & RETELL...

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast How do you know if you are growing? Today we focus on identifying spiritual maturity in the Essential Church. Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! Last week we looked at an overview of disciple making as part of the fundamental DNA of the essential church. Today we consider maturity, particularly the idea of spiritual transformation. We have to be changing if we are maturing and becoming more like Jesus. Quick review: MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of Jesus’ disciples who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. It is my view that this process of accepting the mission of Jesus and becoming a disciple maker is at least part of what God uses to transform you. Think about the questions we are left with after thinking through the definition of church. How do you worship God? Spirit and Truth gives some guidance. Truth should lead us to look at the Bible for answers. What does the life of a living sacrifice look like? Humility is there. What is sacrifice? Probably want to look at the OT for some insight. How do we get together? When, where, how often, what do we do? The NT gives some idea of the big picture, Acts and Paul’s letters need to be investigated. What is the mission of Jesus? The Gospels give His words directly, Acts gives the early churches application of them. What is the Gospel and how do we best communicate it in our location to the people around us? Back to the NT. How do we make disciples in our context? What are Jesus commands? How do we edify others? Who is responsible to do this? Struggling with these Questions in your particular context forces you to consider what God says about each issue and what is left to adjust for your time and place. Struggling to Live what you believe is the context for lasting spiritual growth and transformation as we all learn to trust Him more. We started session one with the topic SEEDS: What’s our Disciple Making DNA? We move on to session two with the topic: TREES: What is your vision of Maturity?

23_03_16 -Ep.30? - Run With Horses Podcast – Disciple Making in the Essential Church Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Today we make the shift from defining what the essential church IS to considering what the church does in more detail. It will be no surprise for regular listeners to know that we will begin with Disciple Making in the Essential Church. Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! I have been thinking about the idea of Essential Ecclesiology for awhile now. Last week we concluded with my working definition of the essential church. MY WORKING DEFINITION OF CHURCH A CHURCH is a group of Jesus’ disciples who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. There are definitely things that are only implied and not spelled out. There are definitely questions a church will need to answer for itself based on its local context and culture. Specifically, What do you not see in this definition? There is not much to tell HOW to do these things. Let’s make a list. How do you worship God? Spirit and Truth gives some guidance. Truth should lead us to look at the Bible for answers. What does the life of a living sacrifice look like? Humility is there. What is sacrifice? Probably want to look at the OT for some insight. How do we get together? When, where, how often, what do we do? The NT gives some idea of the big picture, Acts and Paul’s letters need to be investigated. What is the mission of Jesus? The Gospels give His words directly, Acts gives the early churches application of them. What is the Gospel and how do we best communicate it in our location to the people around us? Back to the NT. How do we make disciples in our context? What are Jesus commands? How do we edify others? Who is responsible to do this? I believe that disciple making is at the center of what it means to be the church. Many have produced catechisms to help teach the foundational truths of God’s Word. What is the chief end of man is the way one talks about our purpose. The answer, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. ("Glorify" does not mean make glorious. It means [to] reflect or display as glorious. Other words you could use for "end" are "goal" or "purpose". - John Piper) HOW do we glorify God? Primarily by humble obedience to His commands. You cannot glorify God and do your own thing! Disciple Making is at the center of what it means to be a follower of Jesus so a simple connection would be to say that we best glorify God when we are most engaged in his mission of reconciliation through relational disciple making. I will be at a retreat this weekend focusing on discipleship, it’s perfect timing so I will start today going over some of the material I am preparing for the retreat. We start session one with the topic SEEDS: What’s our Disciple Making DNA? What is DNA? ****** Thanks for joining me again today! How is your church doing at fulfilling it’s biblical purpose? I’d love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: htts://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Today we are continuing our look at the church and trying to form a simple, coherent definition that covers the basics well without going too far into preferences and without leaving anything out that God intends for us to do or be. I have been thinking about the idea of Minimal or Essential Ecclesiology. Minimal: The least viable form or the least possible to call something a church. What can you remove from your existing church and it still be a church? Essential: If you have nothing else you must at least have this to call it a church. Ecclesiology: doctrine relating to the church The goal is to consider the smallest, most adaptable, most flexible definition of the church. Why? Because we need more churches! And it is hard to begin with the finished, mature product, what can you start with? A seed that contains the DNA of the church at maturity. I believe Acts gives us a good picture of this seed that has all the characteristics of the church that will thrive in any setting. To me that is KEY. The church is God’s people thriving and on mission in every culture and time period. What are the essentials that are consistent in a thriving church in every culture and age? The Essential Church What can you remove from your existing church and it still be a church? If you have nothing else you must at least have this to call it a church. A seed that contains the DNA of the church at maturity. Can you separate what the church IS from what the church DOES? If it doesn’t apply in in all ages, in all cultures and in the persecuted church then it can’t be considered ESSENTIAL. The Church IS: WHO: Baptized Followers of Jesus - Leadership – When and how much is required for a church to be a church? ie. when is a gathering of believers a church and not just a gathering of believers? DO WHAT: Worship a- John 4:24 -in Spirit and Truth b- Rom. 12:1-2 – living sacrifice c- Phil. 2:5-8 -humility and obedience Community/ Fellowship a- Acts 2:42-47 b- Acts 2:41 1 Cor. 11:23-26 - baptism and communion c- Hebrews 10:25 - assumes gathering together is normal Mission a- Acts 8:4 - share the gospel. ie. Acts 1:8 - To BE His witnesses. b- Matthew 28:18-20 -make disciples 1-teaching A-to obey Jesus commands. Not just knowledge. 2-baptizing c- Ephesians 4:11-13 -Equipping the Church for ministry and edifying toward Unity and Maturity, ie. The Image of Jesus A CHURCH is a group of Jesus’ disciples who worship Him in spirit and truth, humbly offering their lives as living sacrifices, together living out the mission of Jesus as His witnesses to the world, by sharing the gospel and making disciples through teaching obedience to His commands as they edify and equip others to join them on His mission. What is this definition missing that you believe is necessary to understand the church? There are definitely things that are only implied and not spelled out. There are definitely questions a church will need to answer for itself based on its local context and culture. Specifically, What do you not see in this definition? There is not much to tell HOW to do these things. Let’s make a list. How do you worship God? Spirit and Truth gives some guidance. Truth should lead us to look at the Bible for answers. What does the life of a living sacrifice look like? Humility is there. What is sacrifice? Probably want to look at the OT for some insight. How do we get together? When, where, how often, what do we do? The NT gives some idea of the big picture, Acts and Paul’s letters need to be investigated. What is the mission of Jesus? The Gospels give His words directly, Acts gives the early churches application of them. What is the Gospel and how do we best communicate it in our...

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast We are still looking for a good definition of the essential church. Maybe we will find it today! Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. The spiritual life is both incredibly simple and potentially the most difficult part of your life. God invites you to live intentionally and on His mission. It’s very cool that we can do that together! I have been asking, “What is the church? Specifically the idea of Minimal or Essential Ecclesiology. Minimal: The least viable form or the least possible to call something a church. What can you remove from your existing church and it still be a church? Essential: If you have nothing else you must at least have this to call it a church. Ecclesiology: doctrine relating to the church The goal is to consider the smallest, most adaptable, most flexible definition of the church. Why? Because we need more churches! You don’t start with the finished product, What do you start with? A seed that contains the DNA of the church at maturity. I have looked at several definitions over the past two weeks and today I will start to narrow it down and will make some decisions about the minimal definition of church. From the past few weeks here are a few key points I will be considering. Can you separate what the church IS from what the church DOES? I think not, so the purpose of the church becomes really important when defining the church. If a church is not at least attempting to fulfill it’s purpose, is it still a church?

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Today we continue looking at the essential church. Or the minimal church. Maybe just church. I started last week by asking, “What is the church? Specifically I wanted to look at the idea of Minimal or Essential Ecclesiology. Quick review. Minimal: The least viable form or the least possible to call something a church. What can you remove from your existing church and it still be a church? Essential: If you have nothing else you must at least have this to call it a church. Ecclesiology: doctrine relating to the church The goal is to consider the smallest, most adaptable, most flexible definition of the church. Why? Because the church is intended to be multiplied in any environment. If church planting is really important, and we are going to do it, we need to identify the seed, the core definition of church. You don’t start with the finished product in gardening or in church planting or in disciple making! What do you start with? A seed that contains the DNA of the future life at maturity. Resources: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/chuch-of-shrinking-definition/ https://www.catalystnw.org/Groups/1000103697/Catalyst/Catalyst_Network/Microchurches/Microchurches.aspx#:~:text=Our%20%22definition%20of%20church%22%20(,Jesus%2C%20they%20are%20the%20church. https://www.tampaunderground.com/microchurches https://saturatetheworld.com/2021/01/26/7-marks-of-essential-ecclesiology/ https://www.ruralministry.net/post/ecclesiology-and-the-rural-church Christ Loved the Church by William MacDonald Rediscover Church: Why the body of Christ is essential by Collin Hanson and Jonathan Leeman The Doctrine and Administration of the Church by Paul R Jackson Doctrine of the Church by Dr. Harold L. Wilmington Practical Christian Theology by Floyd H. Barakman Principles and Practices for Baptist Churches by Edward T. Hiscox https://realfaith.com/what-christians-believe/characteristics-church/ Future Church by Will Mancini and Cory Hartman

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Last week I finished up a series of shows that focused on some practical tips and pointer for living an intentional life. We covered our purpose, roadblocks and resources as well as some final thoughts on making clear goals to strive for in our spiritual life. In and through all of that we kept coming back to the big idea of God’s purpose for you. Today I want to begin to look at God’s purpose for you as it relates to the church. We are going to begin our journey by wrestling with the question, What is the church? Specifically I want to look at the idea of Minimal or Essential Ecclesiology. Minimal: relating to or being a minimum: such as a: the least possible a victory won with minimal loss of life b: barely adequate a minimal standard of living c: very small or slight a minimal interest in art The least viable form or the least possible to call something a church. What can you remove from your existing church and it still be a church? Essential: 1: something basic 2: something necessary, indispensable, or unavoidable If you have nothing else you must at least have this to call it a church. Ecclesiology: theological doctrine relating to the church The goal is to consider the smallest, most adaptable, most flexible church. Why? Because the church at it’s most basic is in the best form to be multiplied rapidly in any environment. If church planting is really important, and we are going to do it, we need to identify the seed. You don’t start with the finished product in gardening or in church planting or in disciple making! What do you start with? A seed that contains the DNA of the future life at maturity. *** Resource; https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/chuch-of-shrinking-definition/ The Church, it is assumed, is simply plural for Christian. So wherever two or more Christians are gathered to discuss about and live in the way of Jesus, that’s church. The problem with this minimalist ecclesiology is that it confuses definition and function. I have no problem with defining the church as elect people of God, or as the gathered Christian community, or as all those who have put their faith in Jesus. These are pretty standard definitions. But to say the church is the people of God is not the same as saying that wherever the people of God are there you have a church.So as a definition the church may be the people of God, but for God’s people gathered to be a church they must function in certain way. ***** Resource: https://www.catalystnw.org/Groups/1000103697/Catalyst/Catalyst_Network/Microchurches/Microchurches.aspx#:~:text=Our%20%22definition%20of%20church%22%20(,Jesus%2C%20they%20are%20the%20church. Microchurch – Worship, Mission and Community Our "definition of church" (ecclesiology) is simple: When a group of likeminded people band together in sincere worship and genuine community to accomplish a part of the mission of Jesus, they are the church. We believe that small, missional groups are the Most Essential Unit of the Church; and that church organizations exist to serve the smaller, micro-expression…and not the other way around. The Early Church embodied 3 essential, irreducible functions of WORSHIP, COMMUNITY, and MISSION; giving great freedom for people & groups to express them in their own contexts. Resource: https://www.tampaunderground.com/microchurches We affirm microchurch as the most basic expression of the church. Our ecclesiology is simple. When believers work together in sincere worship and genuine community to accomplish part of the mission of God, they are the church. Worship, community, and mission are our ecclesial minimum. *** Resource:...

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Today we will look at a simple process to come up with realistic goals that you can work toward in your spiritual life. Actually, the process works for the rest of your life too! Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. There are lots of moving parts to the journey but our foundation is built on Jesus, the solid Rock. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep making steps forward on your spiritual journey. Last Week we looked at Roadblocks and some Resources that you can count on. Whatever the obstacle that you fae in your spiritual life, God already has plan to use it for your good and His glory. Be patient and continue to pursue Him through till the end. Take the daily small steps to follow Jesus where you are and trust Him to do the work in and through you that He wants to accomplish. 1. What do I want to accomplish? God’s purpose for you. Employer’s purpose for you. Your own goals. In each arena of live you may have a different level of control over determining your purpose. Work vs. Home. But God’s purpose for you trumps all others. Luke 14-25-33 – You cannot be Jesus Disciple without committing to Him First. It is a matter of priorities. 2. What’s my starting point? Where am I now? Do I need extra skills, training, information? Honest personal evaluation is often difficult for us. Getting a second opinion here is helpful. DiSC profile, etc. 3. What are potential Roadblocks? What Resources do I have to address them? This is a good time to consult with others about how they see the path ahead. Not just your potential. Take some time to learn about the journey. What have others experiences been like? Talk to people who are doing what you want to do. 4. What are the key steps along the way I can use as markers of progress? How can I be accountable to keep moving? Who can I invite into my process? 5. Build a roadmap. Starting with where you are, include the key steps and needed skills, training along the way. What is a reasonable timeframe? This is where you take all the information you have gathered aabout yourself and current situation and build a plan to gain the skills and experiences you will need to accomplish your goals. It is a timeline of key steps moving you closer to the goal. 6. Have someone you trust go over your plan with you. Do they have suggestions to improve it? Someone who has done it before. A mature Christian you respect. 7. Do it! At some point you have to start, ready or not. As long as the first steps are clear you can continue working on the pathway while you are moving forward. 8. Take a break and evaluate. Recalibrate and rework the plan as necessary. Learn from mistakes. Keep moving forward. Assume that you will need to make changes along the way. That is not a problem, it is part of the process of refining the vision. God directs us as we are following Him. You often learn things along the way that change your understanding, you grow spiritually and are ready for a greater challenge than you imagined. That is all part of the journey. Enjoy the journey! Practical Example 1. I believe God is directing me to be a missionary. 2. What training do I have now? What do I need? What experience would be good to get first? First Step – consult with your pastor! Talk to a mission board or two about other possible requirements. 3. What are potential roadblocks? Do I have financial obligations now? Loans, etc. How will I pay for additional training? 4. What are key steps along the way? Bible college – Mission Board – Language School 5. Roadmap – First, talk to your pastor again. Your church may have both additional requirement and additional resources you need...

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Today we look at the things that might keep you from being fruitful and doing well in life and then consider what you can do about it. It’s all about roadblocks and resources! Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. There are lots of moving parts to the journey but our foundation is built on Jesus, the solid Rock. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep making steps forward on your spiritual journey. Last week we discussed our roles and I encouraged you to brainstorm some ideas connecting your gifts, talents and abilities with the roles you have in life. How did that go for you? Easy and fun? Challenging? I know for some people, it is rare to step back and consider the big picture in life as we have been doing here. But I promise you it is worth it when you reap the benefits of intentionally joining God in the work He is doing in and through you. Understanding why and how God made you, your purpose and gifting, gives clarity to all you do. This is particularly important considering the number of decisions we all have to make each day. Each choice you make has the potential to bring you closer to Jesus and the rest and peace He offers, or to take you further away. And I know which one I want! And then something happens that makes everything harder. Like when you are on your way home early because a storm is coming and you find a tree across the road. Hit the brakes. Now what? Roadblocks are common when we are trying to follow Jesus and honor Him in every area of life. What are some common barriers? Fear is a big one. Fear of man specifically but fear of the unknown and even fear of success! Fear of change. Doubt is a close cousin to fear. Social pressure. Maybe related to fear of man but not always. The people around you expect you to act a certain way. You have a track record. Sin. Alway buts a damper on things. Makes you question your calling and ability. Laziness. Ouch. Shallow and improper relationships. Misplaced priorities. Aiming for the wrong goals. Not aligning life with Jesus and His mission. Consequences from past mistakes. You may be surprised that I didn’t list time and money as roadblocks. If our goal is toe be like Christ, I don’t believe time and money are issues. Now, how you use your time and money, that is a different story. But generally, with a few exceptions, you have time to do what you want and money doesn’t grow your spiritual life. Time for some reflection. What are the things in your life that have the potential to be roadblocks on your way towards spiritual growth and Christ-likeness? After a short break I will be back to consider our resources to combat those roadblocks. What resources do you have to overcome the roadblocks in your life? There are some resources that we all have access to and need to rely on for wisdom and strength. Bible Holy Spirit Prayer Church family – need for closer, more intentional relationships. I can’ t encourage you enough to be part of a community of Jesus followers who are focused on living out His commands and carrying out His mission. Most of the roadblocks we all face in life are best faced together. A Plan – hey, that’s what we are working on! Being intentional about how you live and what you pursue in life leads to constantly addressing problems as they appear. That means many small issues are addressed before they become large ones! There are also resources you may have access to that are unique to you and your situation. Particular people for example. Who is someone God has brought into your life that might be able to shed new light on your situation? I am a big fan of brainstorming. Use it to...

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Today we go back to thinking about how we can be intentional about making spiritual progress in our life. How can we be Intentional and consistent? Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. There are lots of moving parts to the journey but our foundation is built on the solid Rock. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep making steps forward on your spiritual journey. Two weeks ago we looked at priorities and answering the big questions of life. What will you prioritize and pursue in your life? Maybe the question should have been who will you prioritize in your life! Relationship With God Relationship With Spouse Relationship With Children Relationship with the Church Family Relationship with the Unbeliever We moved on to think about how God uniquely made you. What are your gifts and how are they used in the great work that God is doing in the world? Another issue is developing the character of Jesus in your life. And finally, once again, the importance of consistent time in God’s word to know Him and His mission in the world, time in prayer, contemplating God’s work in your life and through your life and then time with God’s family, using your gifts to build up and encourage others along the way. That gets us reviewed and ready for today’s topic. You want to develop a life plan and you start with the Truth presented in the Bible but you have to live it out in the context of your gifts and situation in life. Where do you start? What roles has God given you? Make a list because for most of us there are a few of them! Husband, Father, Neighbor, Brother, Son, Employee, Friend Want to really get some mileage out of this exercise? Write a Job Description for each Role God has given you. What does this role demand from you? How do you do it in light of eternity? What are the requirements for doing this role well? How would you know if you were doing it well? What would a performance evaluation for this job include on the questionnaire? You could stop here and really go a long way toward figuring out how to live a life of purpose and intentionality in line with God’s mission. But wait, there’s more! Let’s dig a little deeper. What is your Identity? Who are you? This is a good time to review your identity in Christ but also time to consider HOW God has made you. What are your gifts and abilities? Interests and Skills? Make a list that includes all of these, are at least many of them. Saint, Ambassador for Christ, Missionary, Artist, Podcaster, Musician, Writer Answering these questions will help you figure out HOW YOU are to live out the roles that God has given you. God given roles are also God prepared roles. You are Hid workmanship and He has prepared the Good Works for you to do. You are created uniquely and gifted to carry out your role in the church and in life in a special way. Don’t apologize for your unique bent, embrace it and use it for god’s glory! OK, Let’ s use all of this information that you have generated to help us figure out what to do. Blue Sky – no bad ideas at this point, put everything down and evaluate latter. Time to put the critical thinker on a break. Start with ideas. Brainstorming how to practically live out the life God has for you. The goal here is to consider all the ways that God could use your talents and abilities in the roles that He has given you. Think outside the box. There is no box for this activity! +MindMap +Brainstorm word associations +Pray constantly, Trust God to work out the details and Live Today, you aren’t promised tomorrow. +Ask for advice from mature believers +Try new things, Don’t be afraid to fail. +Keep the focus on...

Today I talk to Samuel Bornman, author of the book, Of Wizards and Warriors. You can find it here: https://samuelbornman.com/ https://samuelbornman. https://www.amazon.com/dp/ You can find all of the Run With Horses Shows online! Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast

Thanks!

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Today we continue thinking about how we can be intentional about making spiritual progress in our life. What will you consistently do to move forward in your spiritual life? Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. There are lots of moving parts to the journey but our foundation is built on the solid Rock. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep making steps forward on your spiritual journey. Last Week we looked at our main priorities. I listed a few I think are required to be near the top for everyone. They were: Here are a few non-negotiables as I understand them. God must be first. Exodus 20:2-3 – (See Luke 10 Mary and Martha Example, Jesus over serving others.) Character Counts. Romans 5:3-5 – Galatians 5:22-26 – Our Relationships Matter, A Lot. 1 Cor. 6:1-11 – Eph. 2:1-3 – I often think about relationships and how important they are by considering all the different relationship that God has given us. Relationship With God Relationship With Spouse Relationship With Children Relationship with the Church Family Relationship with the Unbeliever I asked the question a few shows ago, What will you prioritize and pursue in your life? You have a lot to think through here. What place does God have in your life? What place should he have? Work in important. How important is it? What comes before work? We will be right break after a short break but first, if you are looking for an interesting and educational podcast to listen to, try this one. Truce Podcast. Truce Podcast – 1.40 length! = 26.20 for first half PART 2 Family, health, community relationships and responsibilities, etc. How do you judge how much time to give each one of these? Ok, you will do something every day. Maybe only spend too much time scrolling through your facebook or Instagram but it’s still something. The big question in life for many of us seems to be , what will I do with my time? After work and taking care of urgent needs, how do you choose what to do with your life? It’s not my intent to get too wrapped up in the big questions today, Why am I here? Etc. But you can’t shy away from those questions if you want to live life well. Assuming we are on the same page and you accept that God is there, He really does care for you and He really is dong something in your life as well as the world around you.. How did God make you unique? What gifts has He given and How do they fit into what God is doing in the world and in your church? Bible reading – learning Who God is and what He is doing Prayer – chewing on how that Truth relates to How HE made me Community – spending time pursuing meaningful relationships that center on Who God is and what He is doing. As you work on your top priorities in life of Pursuing God, developing the character of Christ in your life and building healthy Jesus centered relationships – you should consider what actions you will need to consistently pursue over time to do well at each of these. You want to develop a plan but you have to start with the ideas. Brainstorming how to practically live out the life God has for you. Thanks for joining me again today! What is God doing in your lifeno? How are you focusing on abiding in Christ in the midst of a busy schedule? I’d love to hear from you, write me at norman@runwithhorses.net or leave a comment on the Run With Horses Podcast facebook page. Take time today to pause and thank God for His work in your life and keep running.

Podcast: rwh.podbean.com Website: www.runwithhorses.net Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rwhpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RWHpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rwh_podcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/RWH_podcast Today we continue thinking about how we can be intentional about making spiritual progress in our life. What will you consistently do to move forward in your spiritual life? Welcome to Run With Horses! My name is Norman and my goal is to help you thrive as a follower of Jesus. There are lots of moving parts to the journey but our foundation is built on the solid Rock. Keep your eyes on the prize and keep making steps forward on your spiritual journey. Two weeks ago we looked at our purpose comparing Peter Drucker’s Five Magic Questions with what the Bible tells us about our purpose. God’s call for you to be an active disciple maker on His mission of reconciliation is clear. How do you respond to God’s call? What does that mean that you should do with your life? Let’s start to answer that question today! First a quick review since we have been away from the topic for a few weeks. Resources https://andrewsobel.com/article/peter-druckers-five-magic-questions/ ****** Peter Drucker’s Five Magic Questions The management guru Peter Drucker framed his consulting advice around five critical questions. With the answers to these five questions, you could run and grow your business. Here are Drucker’s five questions: 1. What is your mission? 2. Who is your customer? 3. What does your customer value? 4. What results do you seek? 5. What is your plan? The Bible doesn’t tell you exactly what to do each day but God does tell you what is important to Him and what you should value in life. That is a pretty good place to start when you consider your priorities. Matt. 6:33 – Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Luke 10:38-42 – Mary and Martha – busy first or Jesus first? Matt. 22:35-40 – Deut. 6:4-7 - Romans 12:1-2 – 1 Timothy 2:1-2 – 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (to vs 13 with deacons)– Qualifications for Leaders in the church Matt. 28:18-20 – Great commission – Make disciples Two weeks ago we ended with the questions, “What does that look like in your life? How are you living out these truths?” Have you had a chance to think and pray about your answer? Let’s put the question another way. What will you prioritize and pursue in your life? Where do you get your priorities? Answer that one wrong and you will never be on the right path in your life! What does the world say? Media of all kinds, TV, movies, music, SM, magazines, books, billboards, etc. What is the dominant message of the copmmercials we ingest so much of? YOU NEED MORE! STUFF WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY AND FULFILL YOU! After a short break we will look at some biblical advice for our priorities. PART 2 Stephen R. Covey -The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People : “As a longtime student of this fascinating field [of life and time management], I am personally persuaded that the essence of the best thinking in the area of time management can be captured in a single phrase: Organize and execute around priorities.” Here are a few non-negotiables as I understand them. God must be first. Exodus 20:2-3 – (See Luke 10 Mary and Martha Example, Jesus over serving others.) Character Counts. Romans 5:3-5 – Galatians 5:22-26 – Our Relationships Matter, A Lot. 1 Cor. 6:1-11 – Eph. 2:1-3 – Romans 12:9-21 – Phil. 2:1-4 – There are so many places in the bible where God tells us to love each other and care or each other. As part of God’d fanily we are to pursue meaningful relationships with others. A meaningful relationship is one that is centered on Jesus and moving toward Him. So my quick summary of three top priorities. God FIRST. God FIRST in us. God FIRST in our relationships. How is this working out in your life? Next week we will look a...